November 2006 – Page 7

November 16, 2006

Hair Transplant Did Not Grow After a Year! – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Dear sir,
I underwent hair restoration surgery last year in the month of Octobar. All the transplanted hair fell and i didn’t get them back.what could be wrong? doctor not skilled enough to do it or what,Is it possible to redo surgery?

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When the entire transplant fails, then it is possible that something major went wrong at the time of the surgery. This could be a disastrous mistake that killed the grafts or even an unskilled surgical team. Was the team skilled? Did you check out the doctors first? Did you see patients of theirs? If you decide to redo it, be sure that you have these questions answered… or do some more research and find a different doctor.

For more on what could go wrong during a hair transplant procedure, please see Things That Can Go Wrong in Hair Transplant Surgery.

November 16, 2006

Taking Propecia with Past Cyst on the Liver – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Hi

I sent you a question regarding Chronic Kidney disease which you responded to. Thank you so much. The other thing my Doctor told me I had was a cyst on the liver. I used to be a bodybuilder with a high protein diet and have taken steroids. My diet & lifestyle has changed completed since being diagnosed with CKD. A recent Ultrasound scan has shown that the liver cyst has now gone. My question is, would you advise against dutasteride or Propecia in my case?

Thanks again.

Liver cysts that are incidentally discovered during imaging studies, are usually benign and don’t affect the function of liver. Avodart (dutasteride) and Propecia (finasteride) are both extensively metabolized in liver. If you have liver insufficiency and need to be on these medications, a physician should be involved, and blood level checks might be necessary after starting you on a regular dose of Propecia, and based on that, the dosage of the medication may need to be adjusted. Based on what you are saying, I don’t think you have liver disease just because there was a cyst on the liver, but discuss this issue with your primary care doctor before starting the medication.

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November 16, 2006

Switched from Minoxidil 15% to 5% and Now I’m Shedding – Balding Blog

Dear Dr,

I have been on Xandrox15 (on frontal/temporal area) for about 6 months till date. At first I thought it didnt help much so I switched back to Rogaine 5% about 3 weeks ago. About the 2nd week onwards, I started encountering major shedding on the hairline. Now, I can see the receding areas which wasnt so obvious before. Even my hair stylist commented it at the 3rd week when I went for a haircut (I visit him usually monthly).

My question is, could it be that minoxidil 15% was working for me and the switch to Rogaine 5 % (which i had been using for past 3 yrs and didnt help with regrowth but maybe a little in delaying the frontal hairloss) is causing the shed?

Thanks!

Minoxidil dependence (and shedding after stopping it) is mostly reported in the patients who had some improvement with medication. Although there is no documentation of dependence on higher doses of this medication, with decreasing the dose, I assume that dependence could be dose dependent. That means, if you are switching from a higher to a lower dose of medication, you may experience shedding or just losing the benefit of the high dose. Again, minoxidil dependence only occurs in hair that sees benefit from minoxidil. The better the hair thickness gets, the more the dependence upon minoxidil. If you continue to have shedding after that period, you must see a hair specialist to evaluate the miniaturization of your hair and make sure this hair loss is part of a regular “pattern” baldness and that there are no other factors involved. It is possible that the shedding is the result of your primary problem.

November 16, 2006

My Hair Has Become Thinner Over the Years – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

I’m a 37 year old male who has a full head of hair, however my hair has always been very fine and frizzy/slightly curly. As a result, I shampoo it daily and I’ve always applied gel and then used a blow dryer daily to straighten it too.

In the last few years, my hair has gotten much more fine, and overall it is less thick than it used to be and much more prone to static, especially if i let it dry naturally and don’t use product/blow dry. It’s clearly changed in thickness during my mid thirties, however I don’t seem to be receding dramatically or anything like that. Does this the fact that my hair has gotten much more fine mean that I might be beginning to go bald and is it likely that this process will continue? Do I need to take steps now to prevent it getting more fine?

Thanks for the help!

Great site.

Some people will see a change in the hair shaft diameter towards finer as they get older. That could explain what you are telling me. You want to be sure, however, that the finer hair is uniform all over the head (including the sides and back). The lack of uniformity could suggest a problem, so we generally like to map out the hair throughout the entire scalp for miniaturization to determine if you have some condition that is causing it. If uniformity is seen, then using styling agents to thicken the hair shaft is the way to go.

November 16, 2006

Are Marijuana, Ecstasy, and Pain Killers Causing Me to Lose Hair? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

so ive had a full head of hair my whole life but around 18 i noticed my hair falling out. for about a year i messed around with different drugs like pot, pain killers, and ecstacy. in that year i noticed my hair falling out at a considerably fast rate. for about five months now ive been clean and have taked many steps toward improving my health but the problem doesnt seem to be getting better. what can i do to control it and will the hair return once i get it under control.

No to drugs Many drugs can trigger hair loss as a potential side effect. Male patterned genetic hair loss has four causes:

genetics
male hormones
time (age)
stress

You may have early signs of male pattern hair loss and the stress that you have put on your body with the drugs may have started the process a bit early. Or it is simply a coincidence that you noticed the hair loss around the time you were doing drugs. If you want to be proactive about your hair loss problem, you should find a good doctor who can examine your hair for signs of miniaturization and check your overall health status.

Its great to hear that you have cleaned yourself up! Say no to drugs!

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November 16, 2006

Accelerated Hair Loss from Propecia is Disappointing – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Hi,

Thank you for taking the time to read this message… I love your blog! I am 22 years old and have been taking propecia for about two and a half months now, and I have definitely lost a significant amount of hair since beginning the medication. It almost seems that propecia has accelerated my hair loss in these early stages. Is that even possible? I was hoping for the exact opposite effect, so I’m obviously pretty disappointed. If propecia will eventually work, will I also be able to regrow this hair lost in the first few months of taking the medication? Can you please explain this to me. Thank you!

Assuming that you do have genetic balding, I tell my patients to stay the course. Some people have reported a temporary acceleration of hair loss, but in actuality this is really acceleration of the hair cycling process. You should see the shedding stop in a few months and start seeing value at about the 8th month.

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November 15, 2006

Hair Loss InformationFemale Hair Loss from Ortho Evra? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I’ve been getting an increased amount of emails from women that are experiencing hair loss and are under the belief that it could be their birth control. Although I have discussed various birth control pills and hair loss in the past, it is worth posting again for new readers. Here’s one recent email…

I am a 24 year old female. I took Ortho Evra for about 4 years, until I realized that i was experiencing many of the side effects (I had no idea they were all related to the medication). One of the most troubling is the rate and the amount of hair I have lost. I have been off the patch for about a year now..and my hair keeps falling out (patches on a daily basis). Apart from cold medicine, I dont take any medications, and I just don’t know what to do to get my hair back. Please, please tell me there is something i can do. Please help me, i am so scared!!!

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First off, you should have your hair mapped out for miniaturization as part of the work-up for female hair loss to evaluate and quantify the degree and distribution of miniaturized hairs which may indicate genetic hair loss characteristics and patterns.

Hair loss in women can sometimes be caused by underlying medical conditions, so it is important for you to be evaluated by your own physician before we proceed. If clinically appropriate, the following disease processes should be considered: anemia, thyroid disease, connective tissue disease, gynecological conditions and emotional stress. It is also important to review the use of medications that can cause hair loss, such as oral contraceptives, beta-blockers, Vitamin A, thyroid drugs, coumadin and prednisone. The following laboratory tests are often useful if underlying problems are suspected: Estradiol, FSH, LH, SHBG, Prolactin, T4, TSH, ANA, Iron, TIBC, Ferritin, Free and Total Testosterone. Any family doctor can do this.

You started off asking about Ortho Evra, so I might answer that this drug can cause hair loss, as well as increased facial or body hair growth (hirsutism). It seems that you can not win with any drug.

November 15, 2006

Hair Multiplication and Hair Direction, Again – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

This post is a follow-up to a question that was previously asked (see How Would Hair Multiplication Grow Hair In the Right Direction?) relating to controlling hair direction if one injected cells into the skin for hair multiplication.

If there is a mature hair follicle, then the hairs would have to be carefully placed for direction control and depth control. If hair is placed too deeply, then the hair will not grow through the skin, but will be attacked by your immune system as a foreign ‘invading’ body and destroyed. If it is placed in anything but the exact correct direction, it will not grow in the normal direction. If the hair is placed as a ‘stem cell’ that could be controlled (a big stretch in thinking), exact placement of the cell may be critical to actually growing hair. If is is a cell or a series of cells that would grow hair, would the new follicle know up from down (like a plant seed)? Clearly, there will be an art to growing hair when and if it can be done.

November 15, 2006

Teen Girl Losing Hair, Wonders If It Is Cancer – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Im a 14 year old girl and about 2 weeks ago I cut my hair myself. I always do so I didnt think anything wrong was going to happen. But now any time I run my hand though my hair I have like a hair ball and it’s starting to scare me because I used to have really thick hair. My mom has thin hair. Could i have cancer? My grandmother has a history of it.

Based on what you’re telling me, I doubt that you have cancer. If there is a family history of cancer (ovaries, breast, uterus) then you should find out if your family has the gene for such cancers. If that is the case, you can get checked out for the cancer gene as well. If it is not in the family, I doubt that you need to get the genetic test. I remember when I was in medical school, each and every time I found out the details of a disease, I seem to have developed the symptoms of that disease. Eventually, I learned to disassociate my learning from my life and I stopped getting the weird diseases. At 14 years old, cancer is unusual, but that is a matter you should discuss with your parents and your doctor.

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November 15, 2006

Lipodrene and Hair Loss – Balding Blog

I was taking Lipodrene for weight loss and it contains ephedrine group alkaloids in it. I have been losing my hair and it is getting to be a problem. I have stopped taking the Lipodrene but when will my hair stop falling out? What can I do to stop this? Help !!!!!!

We have answered similar questions in regards to ephedrine and pseudoephedrine and hair loss as their side effects. Although hair loss is not reported as a common side effect of these medications, it is mentioned in some websites (such as Bodybuilding.com) which go over side effects of bodybuilding medications. The mechanism of hair loss with these medications is not quite clear. Hair loss should be reversible after discontinuation of ephedrine with time. I am not aware of any studies indicating how long before recovering from this condition if it occurs.